Digital Scotland Festival 2014: we came, we saw, we conquered (nearly) all things digital

"I've learned some really neat ideas" and "I can't wait to get back to the ranch to make some changes" - just a couple of the comments that came my way as I proudly, and nervously, stood in the centre of the Informatics Forum on Monday and watched and listened to DigiScotFest14 unfold. The “unconference” format was a challenge to some, but it went down a storm in the end. Throwing a fabulous debate on digital and human rights into the middle of the day helped to really broaden the mix of delegates. We rounded the day off with the Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy which was a great reward at the end of a long day for the more hard core attendees (of whom there were many). So, how am I judging it to be such a success? Quite simply based on the vast array of topics we covered on anything and everything which touches on the sphere of digital participation. Here’s just a few of the issues I picked up on:

• Digital exclusion is everybody's problem and we need to solve it together
• We have to get started with the hardest places and people to reach first or things will only ever be 'good enough'
• If we want people to be creative at work we must give staff access to the tools and skills they need
• People have to be online to exercise their human rights
• Local champions can have a huge impact

Our Storify will help you to re-live your favourite thoughts on the day and catch up on some of the bits you might have missed. If you weren’t able to join us maybe it will encourage you to be with us next year.